Buy now, pay later firms are expanding their reach in the MENA region

Print

Email

Globally, the buy now, pay later (BNPL) industry has emerged as the disruptive payment method in the last two years. The situation is no different in the Middle Eastern region. According to PayNXT360’s Q4 2021 BNPL Survey, the BNPL payment industry in the region is expected to grow by 99.8% on annual basis to reach US$7.2 billion in 2022. PayNXT360 expects BNPL adoption to increase significantly over the next two years in this region. Consequently, the rising growth opportunity is attracting fintech companies to enter the market space through strategic partnerships. For instance,

• In March 2022, Middle East and Central Asia-based fintech firm, ZoodPay entered into a strategic collaboration with Network International, a provider of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa (MEA). Through this partnership, ZoodPay, which is the first BNPL solution provider in Jordan, will start providing BNPL solutions for its Network’s merchants in the country.
• Notably, existing merchants of Network’s POS terminals will receive an automatic service upgrade for ZoodPay service. Subsequently, from the second quarter, the merchants will be onboarded on ZoodPay. On the other hand, the new merchants will be provided with a specially packaged product, including Network’s POS payment solution and ZoodPay’s BNPL service.
• Further, the customers who have ZoodPay App, just need to apply for a credit limit and get approval for it. Therefore, while purchasing the user just needs to select ZoodPay for flexible short-time financing and pay in monthly installments. Notably, the merchants also need to select ZoodPay as the desired payment method on Network’s POS terminal and generate a QR code. The customers can then pay using ZoodPay in-app QR Scanner.

BNPL providers of the region are also expanding their market share by partnering up with e-commerce platforms and online shopping destinations. For instance, 

• Another fintech platform from the MENA region, valU partnered with noon.com, an e-commerce platform and online shopping destination, in March 2022. This partnership will enable noon and valU customers to utilize customizable payment plans for buying products above EGP500 on the e-commerce platform. Therefore, the customers will have a swift and seamless payment option for buying products such as fashion items, electronic goods, beauty, home, baby care, and groceries. 

With the diminishing Covid-19 impact, shoppers had started shopping in offline mode. Consequently, BNPL players are grabbing this opportunity and started partnering with leading retailers to offer in-store BNPL services in this region. Moreover, they are building integrated shopping platforms to provide a personalized experience to the customers. 

To know more and gain a deeper understanding of the BNPL market in the MENA region, click here.